LABOR DAY NO MORE!!!
Throwback to the day I quit my job! It’s now been a year since I left my full-time job at George Junior. After 7 years of feeling undervalued as an employee, it was finally time to take the leap of making CrossFit Grove City my sole ambition. It was the right choice!
Throughout the majority of my life, I have been a coach. In my teens and into college, I helped run basketball and football camps. After college I was able to score my most rewarding position (up until starting my gym) as a high school track coach. I was actually getting paid to do something that I genuinely loved, and felt what it was like to be appreciated for my skills and insight. It was only a part-time, seasonal job, but I soon realized that I wanted nothing more than to coach for the rest of my life. I just didn’t know how to make that happen.
Then one summer while I was recovering from a torn labrum and rotator cuff in my right shoulder, I stumbled upon the CrossFit Games on ESPN. I was mesmerized by their athleticism and after some research, I started following main site workouts on my own at the YMCA down the street. There was so much that I couldn’t do at first, but I just kept chipping away at it while the traditional gym-goers gave me looks of confusion and some of concern. After a month, I was hooked and began messing around with my own programming. Being that I was a track coach, I already had some athletes that I was training on the side. They were giving me good feedback and encouraging others to join in via word of mouth. I took that encouragement as a sign to pursue my training certificate and eventually open a place of my own.
While I was attempting to figure out how to open a space of my own, an opportunity came up at George Junior to help run a fitness program for overweight and at-risk youth that were currently placed there. I put a lot of time and energy into that program with much success, but somehow with all the energy myself and others poured into the kids and the program, another guy that only represented the program by name took all the credit and the majority of the pay home with him. Needless to say, I was disheartened but still determined to get others as excited about health and fitness as I was. I soon quit as a trainer for George Junior and spent more time with my one-on-one clients and coaching track. Eventually someone approached me with a small loan offer that I never asked for. He simply saw the value in what I was doing and wanted to support my efforts.
Thanks to him and my loyal clients, I was able to open CrossFit Grove City in September of 2014! I was able to slowly grow my member base and in August of 2015, I made the decision to put in my two-weeks notice to simply working a job and committed to living a life that I could enjoy. It is because of my members that I am able to enjoy my life as a box owner. The days can be long and filled with difficulties, but every class has a moment of inspiration as I witness a member hit a new personal record, or break through a mental barrier that was once holding them back. Sometimes it’s just the fact that you showed up on a day that you didn’t want to crawl out of bed to face. I have days like that too, but being with friends makes it all better. I hope that is how you now see me. I am not a salesman. Nor do I ever want to be. I need to make money like everyone else, but I want my members to feel welcomed because I have something that is of value to them. Not because I sold them a membership.
Long story short: I do feel valued by my members! I no longer feel like I am just working a job. Last year, my members put together a small collection in the month of August just as I was about to quit my full-time job. It was the confirmation that I needed. This year, with about twice the regular membership, my members did it again. It’s like a Christmas bonus! Gifts like those always come at the right time in life. Thank you all for being more of a second family to me than just members!
Thank you all for not letting this feel like a job and for being my friends when I needed you!